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Russian language skills and employment in the Former Soviet Union

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  • Alan Duncan
  • Astghik Mavisakalyan

Abstract

type="main" xml:id="ecot12075-abs-0001"> During the Soviet era, proficiency in the Russian language was often a ticket to attractive employment opportunities in the member republics. Does it still contribute to securing employment in the former Soviet republics after two decades of transition? Using data from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia in the years 2008–2010, this paper demonstrates that Russian language skills remain economically valuable. The baseline estimates suggest that Russian language skills increase probability of employment by about 6 (males) and 9 (females) percentage points. Our results bear important implications for the ongoing debates on language policies in the post-Soviet countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Duncan & Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2015. "Russian language skills and employment in the Former Soviet Union," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 23(3), pages 625-656, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:etrans:v:23:y:2015:i:3:p:625-656
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecot.2015.23.issue-3
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Clas Weber, 2016. "Linguistic relativity and economics," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1605, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    2. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Anna Minasyan, 2023. "The Role of Conflict in Sex Discrimination: The Case of Missing Girls," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 71(2), pages 443-484.
    3. Haining Wang & Zhiming Cheng & Russell Smyth, 2016. "Language, Health Outcomes and Health Inequality," Monash Economics Working Papers 43-16, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    4. Michele Gazzola & Daniele Mazzacani, 2019. "Foreign language skills and employment status of European natives: evidence from Germany, Italy and Spain," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 46(4), pages 713-740, November.
    5. Mavisakalyan, Astghik, 2018. "Do employers reward physical attractiveness in transition countries?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 38-52.
    6. Hahm, Sabrina & Gazzola, Michele, 2022. "The Value of Foreign Language Skills in the German Labor Market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    7. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2017. "Returns to language skills in transition economies," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 416-416, December.
    8. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2016. "Language and consumption," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 135-151.
    9. Brian Fabo & Miroslav Beblavý & Karolien Lenaerts, 2017. "The importance of foreign language skills in the labour markets of Central and Eastern Europe: assessment based on data from online job portals," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 44(3), pages 487-508, August.
    10. Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2016. "Looks matter: Attractiveness and employment in the former soviet union," Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre Working Paper series WP1604, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School.
    11. Alejandro Donado, 2017. "Foreign Languages and their Impact on Unemployment," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 31(3), pages 265-287, September.
    12. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2019. "Health outcomes, health inequality and Mandarin proficiency in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Wang, Haining & Smyth, Russell & Cheng, Zhiming, 2017. "The economic returns to proficiency in English in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 91-104.
    14. Fujii, Tomoki & Nakajima, Maki & Xu, Sijia, 2021. "Teaching in the Right Context: Textbook Supply Program, Language, and Vocabulary Ability in Vietnam," Economics and Statistics Working Papers 2-2021, Singapore Management University, School of Economics.
    15. Dovì, Max-Sebastian, 2019. "Does higher language proficiency decrease the probability of unemployment? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1-11.
    16. Tomoki Fujii & Maki Nakajima & Sijia Xu, 2023. "Teaching in the right context: Textbook supply program, language, and learning," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(2), pages 797-824, May.
    17. Astghik Mavisakalyan & Clas Weber, 2018. "Linguistic Structures And Economic Outcomes," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(3), pages 916-939, July.

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